The Social Affairs Commission of the Brazilian Senate approved a project that regulates telehealth services.
Since the beginning of the health emergency, projects to regulate telemedicine and telehealth have managed to overcome various legislative stages in the Chamber of Deputies and in the Senate of Brazil. Telehealth in Brazil was authorized as an emergency measure in the face of the pandemic, however, the authorization recently lost its validity, which highlights the need for legislation on this subject for its definitive regulation.
After being approved in the Chamber of Deputies, the Social Affairs Commission of the Senate has done the same with the regulation of telehealth services. This bill defines telehealth as the services and actions performed remotely by health professionals using technologies to prevent and control diseases or health problems.
Likewise, this telehealth regulation also seeks the promotion, protection, recovery and rehabilitation of the health of patients, as well as the incorporation of these services for teaching and research in health.
The bill regulates telehealth care in the Unified Health System (SUS), and in private health services. The senators agree that telehealth has become a tool that must be guaranteed by means of a legal text, in order to continue using it to serve the population.
Similarly, telehealth manages to lower the cost of medical procedures and extend access to quality medical care throughout the Brazilian territory.
The proposal will now go to plenary to be analyzed by the senators and later achieve approval.
